London riots: Dozens injured after Tottenham violence

More than 40 people have been arrested after rioting saw police attacked and buildings and vehicles set alight in Tottenham, north London.

Overnight, 26 officers and three others were hurt in the violence which erupted after a protest over the fatal shooting by police of Mark Duggan on Thursday.

Shops were looted in Tottenham and nearby Wood Green.

Tottenham MP David Lammy said: "A community that was already hurting has had its heart ripped out."

The Metropolitan Police said two officers were still in hospital and three members of the public had been injured. More than 40 people remain in custody.

Police said there were still "pockets of criminality" in the area on Sunday morning.

London Fire Brigade said crews were dampening down the scene of some fires.

A spokesman said all the fires were under control "at the moment".

On Sunday morning, police were manning a cordon around the scene of the violence, while residents surveyed the damage to their community.

Mr Lammy said: "There are people homeless and we don't know if there are fatalities in the houses.

"This is an attack on Tottenham, on people shopkeepers, woman, children, now standing homeless."

"I'm concerned that what was a peaceful process turned into this," he added.

"And that it seemed to go on for many hours before we saw the kind of policing that I think is appropriate.

"And I think small skirmishes initially should have been stopped far quicker."

The front window of Currys electrical store was smashed while Argos's door had been smashed in and broken glass covered the floor inside and out after looters apparently raided the stock room

Home Secretary Theresa May condemned the violence.

She said: "Such disregard for public safety and property will not be tolerated, and the Metropolitan Police have my full support in restoring order.

Met Commander Adrian Hanstock said: "The level of violence was escalated beyond proportion.

"A peaceful vigil was hijacked by mindless thugs.

"We couldn't have anticipated that level of violence."

A Downing Street spokesman called the rioting "utterly unacceptable".

He added: "There is no justification for the aggression the police and the public faced, or for the damage to property."

Riot police and mounted officers were called in after the protest deteriorated into violence about 20:20 BST.

Rioters threw petrol bombs at police and buildings. A double-decker bus was set on fire at the junction of High Road and Brook Street and buildings, including an Aldi supermarket and carpet shop, were also set alight.

Piled trolleys high

The London Ambulance Service said a total of 10 people had been treated by medics and nine had been taken to hospital. At least one of the injured police officers suffered head injuries.

Crowds of looters smashed shop windows in a retail park near Tottenham Hale tube station and plundered goods from many stores on Saturday night.

Teenagers and adults were said to have turned up in cars and filled their boots with stolen items, unimpeded by police.

Continue reading the main story

At the scene

Peter JacksonBBC News

Faint grey plumes of smoke still rise over Tottenham High Road some 12 hours after last night's unrest - the smouldering buildings the first visible signs of its intensity.

On the ground, at the junction with Monument Way, bricks, broken glass and debris litter the roads and pavements as far as the eye can see.

A burnt-out Ford Focus police car sits at one end and the shell of a double-decker bus can just be made out 150 yards up the High Road.

Local residents, some angry, most just frustrated, ask a line of up to 50 officers why they can't pass and get on their way.

The road has been completely sealed off.

Adeyemi Adeagbo is unable to get to his church - the CAC Outreach - just yards away.

He says it pains him as Sunday is the only day he gets to worship.

The rioters were fighting for their rights, but should have protested in a "civilised way", he says.

Another resident, who appears from the other side of the cordon, says he has seen a betting shop and post office completely gutted.

"They are shells, it's like the Blitz," he says.

Others arrived on foot and piled shopping trolleys high with looted electronic goods, a local woman, who did not want to be named, said.

Another local resident told the BBC that looting had continued beyond daybreak on Sunday.

Meanwhile, shops in nearby Wood Green had also been looted, and two cars had been burnt out.

Vision Express, the Body Shop, Boots and JD Sports were among shops that had been looted on Wood Green High Street.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating Thursday's shooting.

A police officer was also shot in the incident, which happened in what was called a "pre-planned operation" when police stopped a minicab containing Mr Duggan.

The BBC's Andy Moore said that since riots in 1985, relations between the local community and police had been generally good, but last week's shooting raised tensions.

He said elements of the community were looking for instant answers but the investigation into Mr Duggan's death would be more long-term.

A friend of Mr Duggan, who gave her name as Niki, 53, said those who had joined Saturday's protest, which began with a march from Broadwater Farm area, wanted "justice for the family".

Buildings and vehicles were set alight in the riot, which turned violent at about 20:20 BST

London's deputy mayor Kit Malthouse said: "I cant see any excuse for the kind of behaviour we saw last night.

"It's absolutely outrageous to see it on the streets of London.

"We'll do as much as we can to ensure there's no recurrence tonight."

Of the investigation over the shooting of Mr Duggan, Mr Malthouse said: "I can understand people's unrest.

"But these investigations take some time."